


No bells

by Drago



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Angst, Bit sappy, Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Language, after prison, clueless!Ian, insecure!mickey, post-season 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 01:59:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17377421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drago/pseuds/Drago
Summary: Ian and Mickey finally get released from prison. Everything is going to be alright now, Ian can feel it.





	No bells

**Author's Note:**

> Just a lil thing I wanted to write while I'm busy with something else~ Nothing special.

They get released three days after Christmas, which seems like a rather unfunny joke. Ian is glad that he is getting released, but the timing seems almost deliberate. One last way to show them that they are trash, and the government can do with them whatever they want. Ian knows that already, he learned it the hard way. He did spend two years in prison.   
Terry Milkovich was both right and wrong when he said that boredom is the worst thing about prison.  
The first few months were intense, Ian didn’t know the rules, but Mickey was there to guide him. And to protect him, because the laws might be different in prison, but they still have to obeyed. Thankfully, Ian learns quickly, and soon enough the others knew not to fuck with them.  
Then, the period of supposed boredom came, but he wouldn’t call it like that, not really. There were times he yearned for clubs and cinemas, but most of the time he tried to use his time in prison for self-discovery and improvement, forcing Mickey to do it with him. He is, perhaps, one of the few criminals, who used the time served the way it’s supposed to be used.   
There were also moments he enjoyed. Waking up early to kiss, suck, love and fuck Mickey. Talking about the future, before they fall asleep. Watching Mickey learn a new craft, discovering that there is something he is good at. That Terry is wrong and Mick isn’t just another “useless piece of faggot shit”. Ian would love to do all of that in a different place, but maybe it was impossible. Maybe it was his fault.  
Ian expects to see Mandy next to his family, but there is no one waiting for Mickey once they are finally allowed to leave the prison – after listening to a long speech about being given another chance to be law-abiding citizens. It’s not a problem. After all, Mickey can come with them. Even Fiona softened, once she learned that Mick came back for Ian.  
Except Mickey doesn’t seem too eager to join them. He stands a bit on the side, smoking a cigarette handed to him by Carl.   
“Mick, let’s go, Fiona says she prepared some Christmas dishes again, since we missed it the first time.”  
“Nah, man, I’m going to Iggy’s.”  
“You… what?”   
Ian knows that Iggy finally moved out from Terry’s house after finding a girlfriend, who isn’t a complete trash. They are even expecting a baby, and Ian hopes the child is not going to inherit Iggy’s intelligence. Or the lack of it. Iggy is a nice enough guy, but Mick is the only Milkovich brother who knows how to use his head.   
“I’ll stay at Iggy’s for a while.”  
“And then what?”  
Mickey just shrugs. It means he doesn’t have a plan, but it also means that he doesn’t plan on renting a place with Ian. Wrong, all of it is wrong.   
Ian doesn’t want his family to overhear them, so he comes closer and lowers his voice, hoping for at least a little bit of privacy.  
“And then what, Mick? What are you trying to say right now?”  
“Look man, we spent two years in a can together. Day and night, you probably want to be alone for a while, right? Be with your family and friends, or whatever. So let’s take a breather, yeah?”  
“You want to take a break now?” Ian is furious, but he is still whispering. His eyes are burning, but he is not going to cry. It’s supposed to be a happy moment, not a fucking waterworks show.  
“Sure, that’s what I want.”  
One thing that Ian learned in prison, is to take a deep, calming breath every time he is angry or annoyed, so he won’t end up saying something he might regret later. It’s a very simple thing, but he never thought to do it before. Now, he stares into Mickey’s baby blue eyes, while he tries to calm himself.  
“Okay. Alright. Give me Iggy’s address, and then I’m gone.”  
“What?”  
“Iggy’s address, now.”  
Mickey hesitates for a second, but mutters the address after Ian gives him his best glare.  
“I’ll talk to you soon,” it sounds almost like a threat, and Mickey raises his eyebrows mockingly. Ian simply kisses him. It’s a fast, painful kiss. A warning.

Ian manages almost three full days before he is borrowing Lip’s car to drive to Iggy’s. At two in the morning. He hoped that Mickey would come to his senses first, he knows where Ian lives, since nothing ever really changes for the Gallaghers. But that didn’t happen (or maybe Ian didn’t give him enough time), so Ian gets dressed, takes Lip’s keys and drives forty minutes to Iggy’s place.  
He expects a block of flats, but it’s actually a little house, much nicer than what Ian is used to seeing from Milkoviches. The doors are locked, another surprise. They never bothered with it at Terry’s, since no one would try to rob them, and even if they did, there wasn’t anything worth stealing.  
Knowing that Iggy’s girl is pregnant, he feels a bit bad ringing the doorbell this late at night, but he doesn’t have Mickey’s number, so he can’t call.  
“Ian? Hi dude, are you here for Mick?” Iggy cheerfully asks, as if he isn’t holding a baseball bat, ready to beat the living shit out of a potential threat.  
“Yeah, I really need to talk to him.”  
“Sure, he is upstairs.”  
There is a half-empty bottle of Jack next to Mickey’s bed, and the man himself is asleep in a white tank-top with blue boxer shorts. Ian wants to fuck him stupid, but that’s not why he came here.   
The first thing Mickey tries to do, when Ian shakes him awake, is to punch him, the memories of prison still fresh in his mind. Ian does the same thing.  
“Ian? What..?”  
“We need to talk.”  
“Fuck off, it’s late.”  
“No, we’re going to talk, and we are going to do it now.”  
Mickey looks like he wants to argue, but Ian doesn’t budge from his spot, looming over his boyfriend. They are both bigger, more musculed than they were two years ago, but Ian always will have the height advantage.  
“Why are you hiding here, instead of staying with me?”  
“I already told you, you should spend some time with your family and friends.”  
“You are my family. You are my friend.”  
Mickey doesn’t quite look at him when he mumbles, “No, I’m not.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Look, we both know that you stayed with me in prison for protection. That’s fine, I came back to help you. You don’t have to pretend that you l… love me anymore. I get it, it was my decision to come back ‘cuz I wanted to keep you safe, but you don’t owe me shit. You can go back to your family, find yourself a nice boyfriend like the one you had before.”  
Ian doesn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He really thought that they left their past behind them, but apparently it was wishful thinking on his part. He tried discussing it with Mickey before, but the older man would always shrug him off. Ian stupidly assumed that it meant everything was fine.   
It would be too easy, he can see it now. He hurt Mickey more, than anyone else could, because Mickey loved him, and Ian used it against him, over and over again. And it took him two years in prison to realize that Mickey is the best thing that happened to him.  
Ian is leaning more towards crying, but he is not going to make it about himself anymore. He isn’t going to force Mickey to pity him, not this time. Instead, he takes a seat on top of Mick, pinning him in place.  
“I know I used to be a stupid fuck, and I know I fucked you over before. But I didn’t stick with you in prison because it was convenient. You think I couldn’t find someone else? Comeon. I didn’t want to, because I love you. You are my family, my home. And I’m sorry that I made you doubt me. I don’t want any other guys. You are enough, you were always enough, but I was too dumb to see it. Come back with me, please.”  
Mickey’s face shows no emotion, and he is eerily quiet. Ian can feel his heart race, the last time he was so nervous was when he stood before the judge, awaiting his sentence. But even then, he wasn’t as worried as he is now.  
“I will come with you, but if you leave me again… There won’t be any more chances.”  
“I know, baby, I know.”  
Ian doesn’t add that he is not going to leave Mickey, because he promised something similar before, and still left. He leans down to kiss Mickey’s soft lips, and vows to himself to be better, stronger. To finally be the person his boyfriend already believes him to be.


End file.
